What the three numbers set on your treadmill
The numbers are the settings, in order: 12 is the incline in percent, 3 the speed in miles per hour, 30 the duration in minutes. On a metric console, 3 mph is 4.8 km/h.
A 12% incline climbs 12 meters for every 100 meters covered, an angle of about 6.8°. Some consoles show levels or degrees instead of a percentage; the manual gives the conversion.
| Number | Setting | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Incline | 12% (about 6.8°) |
| 3 | Speed | 3 mph, or 4.8 km/h |
| 30 | Duration | 30 minutes, which covers 2.4 km |
Who it suits, according to the trainers Healthline interviewed
Morgan Rees, a certified personal trainer, told Healthline that walking at these settings builds cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Rees suggests that beginners start with 20 minutes at 4% and 2.5 mph.
Chris Higgins, also a certified trainer, says a steep incline is very taxing on the body, especially with a muscle or joint condition, and that it is a poor choice for anyone with breathing difficulties. Higgins does not consider it beginner-friendly.
If you have a heart, joint or breathing condition, or you are coming back after a long break, ask a doctor before you start.
Further reading: Healthline — What experts think of 12-3-30 ↗
A four-week build-up from 8% to 12%
If 20 minutes at 4% is still ahead of you, do that first by hand on any treadmill. The Runkyz Incline walking plan then starts at 8%: four weeks of three sessions, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and each week raises the incline, the speed and the duration a little.
| Week | Session | Incline and speed | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8-2.5-20 | 8% at 2.5 mph (4 km/h) | 20 min |
| 2 | 10-2.7-25 | 10% at 2.7 mph (4.3 km/h) | 25 min |
| 3 | 11-2.9-28 | 11% at 2.9 mph (4.7 km/h) | 28 min |
| 4 | 12-3-30 | 12% at 3 mph (4.8 km/h) | 30 min |
How the 12-3-30 session runs in Runkyz
The session is one 30-minute walk in Desert: 2.4 km on a dedicated course with 288 m of climb. Runkyz adds no warm-up or cool-down to it, so walk on the flat for a few minutes before you start and again at the end.
Enter your treadmill’s limits
In the settings, open the Your treadmill card and enter the maximum speed and incline of your console.
Open the session or the plan
In the Training tab, pick 12-3-30 in the sessions or follow the Incline walking plan.
Set the belt and hold
Set 4.8 km/h and 12% on the console. The banner keeps saying to hold these values, since nothing changes ahead, and counts down from 30:00.
If your treadmill stops below 12%
Enter your treadmill’s real limits in the settings. Runkyz never asks for more than the maximum incline you entered and raises the walking speed to keep the effort close, within the maximum speed you entered.
That compensation is an approximation: a treadmill that stops at 10% does not give you 12-3-30, only the nearest session it allows. On the run screen, the banner shows the values to set.
IN RUNKYZ
12-3-30 and its build-up are in Runkyz.
Desert is free up to 10 km: the four-week Incline walking plan runs on it without a license.
